| Kaashmora | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gokul |
| Written by |
|
| Screenplay by | Gokul |
| Story by | Gokul |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Om Prakash |
| Edited by | V. J. Sabu Joseph |
| Music by | Santhosh Narayanan |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Sri Thenandal Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 164 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹60 crore[1] |
Kaashmora (transl. Deadly spirit)[a] is a 2016 IndianTamil-languagehorrormasala film[2] written and directed byGokul. It featuresKarthi in dual roles for the second time afterSiruthai as the protagonist and antagonist respectively alongsideNayanthara, andSri Divya. The film features soundtrack composed bySanthosh Narayanan, cinematography handled byOm Prakash and edited byV. J. Sabu Joseph. It was released worldwide on 28 October 2016, coinciding withDiwali.
Kaashmora and his family arecon artists who cheat people in the name ofblack magic and dark spirits. One day, Yamini, aPhD research student, joins Kaashmora to gather evidence and expose him to the public. Kaashmora's fame makes him respected by a superstitious and fraudulent minister. Kaashmora earns Minister Dhanakodi's trust. When theincome tax department raids Dhanakodi's house, he asks his henchmen to transfer all the illegal money to Kaashmora's house. Seeing this as an opportunity to escape and settle abroad, Kaashmora's family ran with the money. Meanwhile, Chelapathy Rao seeks Kaashmora's help and brings him to a haunted bungalow on the outskirts ofTamil Nadu andAndhra Pradesh. In the house, actual ghosts haunt Kaashmora.
Meanwhile, inChennai, Dhanakodi learns that Kaashmora is a fraudster and sends his henchmen to kill his family. The henchmen try to get Kaashmora from the bungalow but cannot since the ghost beats them and drags Kaashmora and his family inside the house. The family encounters a broker trapped inside the house for a long time. The broker says that the bungalow was once a princess's palace. Ever since her death, residents and owners of the house have met with an ill fate. He also informs us that there are 13 ghosts in the bungalow. The trapped people meet the ghost of Raj Nayak, the head of all 12 spirits. Raj Nayak asks Kaashmora to help him and his subordinates reach the spiritual world. He then locks them in the castle. That night, a young girl in Kaashmora's dream leads him to a closed door within the palace.
As Kaashmora wakes up, Yamini tells him that Chelapathy Rao, the man who led him here, died 75 years ago, and his spirit took Kaashmora and Yamini here. Kaashmora searches the castle and gets hold of an old book dating back 700 years, narrating about Raj Nayak.
Past: Raj Nayak was a self-obsessed warlord and a womaniser. The king remained silent and did not interfere with Raj Nayak's growing atrocities because of his military prowess. One day, Princess Rathna Mahadevi elopes with her lover, the enemy kingdom's prince. The king announces that he will marry Rathna and give away half of his kingdom to the man who finds her. Raj Nayak kills the prince and forcibly brings Rathna back. He demands to be married to the princess and wants the other half of the kingdom to be a dowry. When opposed, he kills the crown prince and the king. Raj Nayak then marries Rathna and crowns himself king. However, Rathna has other plans. She and her friends seduce Raj Nayak and his subordinates. While Raj Nayak's subordinates are burned alive, Rathna beheads Raj Nayak. However, he kills her and her assistants before dying. Before breathing her last breath, Rathna places a curse on the 13 men, preventing them from reaching the spiritual world.
Present: Afterwards, Raj Nayak and the other 12 ghosts haunted the palace and its occupants. According to anexorcist, Raj Nayak would become immortal if he sacrificed five people in a family born with the same birth star (Rohini). A lady who is the only woman in her generation should perform the sacrifice. It should happen during the Navakaali Pournami, which occurs once every millennium. Kaashmora recollects that his family members all have the same birth sign and that Yamini is the only woman in her family.
That night, Navakaali Pournami occurs, and Raj Nayak forces Kaashmora and his family to the guillotine. The young girl from Kaashmora's dream appears and turns out to be Rathna's reincarnation. While Rathna and Raj Nayak fight each other, Kaashmora fends off the subordinate ghosts with the help of a magical sword. Rathna's conscience leads him to a chamber within the castle where Raj Nayak's remains are. Using the dagger, Kaashmora destroys the remains, making Raj Nayak vulnerable. Rathna destroys Raj Nayak's spirit, and it goes to the underworld. The other spirits flee the castle for the spiritual world. Having escaped the palace, Kaashmora claims he defeated the ghosts and cleansed the centuries-old bungalow. Kaashmora's family gives Dhanakodi his documents and informs him that the spirit kept the stolen money.
Production begun in the first week of May 2015,[3] delayed from February.[4] Karthi plays two roles, including the title character.[5]Vadivelu was initially cast as this character's father before he was replaced byVivek.[6][7] Karthi learnthorseriding in preparation for his other role.[8] The technical crew includes the art directorRajeevan, editorV. J. Sabu Joseph, and cinematographerOm Prakash.[9] The film was marketed as a mix of action and comedy.[10][11]
It's been said that the "3D Face scan" technology has been used in this film.[12][13] Karthi's face was 3D scanned for an important sequence which would run for 15 minutes.[14]Kaashmora comprises 70 minutes of VFX scenes.[15] Director Gokul says that, 360-degreeomnidirectional camera rig is used for shooting a particular sequence and this is the first Indian film to use this technology.[10] This technology covers entire360 degree, approximately entire sphere.[16] Omnidirectional cameras are used where large visual field coverage is needed, such as inpanoramic photography.[17] This camera is used in this film to shoot a song and few scenes.[18] Filming wrapped in June 2016.[19]
| Kaashmora | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |||||
| Released | 7 October 2016 (2016-10-7) | ||||
| Recorded | 2015–2016 | ||||
| Studio | Future Tense studios Prism Sounds Studios Studios 301 Studio M1 | ||||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 23:41 | ||||
| Language | Tamil | ||||
| Label | Think Music | ||||
| Producer | Santhosh Narayanan | ||||
| Santhosh Narayanan chronology | |||||
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The soundtrack album is composed bySanthosh Narayanan, collaborating with Karthi for the second time afterMadras (2014). The audio rights were purchased byThink Music.[20] The soundtrack album was launched on 7 October 2016, inChennai.[21]
The Times of India rated the album 3 out of 5, and stated that "This one's not a usual Santhosh fest, but works in some parts!"[22]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dhikku Dhikku Sir" | Lalithanand | Santhosh Narayanan | 3:15 |
| 2. | "Jagadhammaa" | Muthamil | Ananthu | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Oyaa Oyaa" | Lalithanand | Kalpana Raghavendar | 4:57 |
| 4. | "Thakida Thakida" | Muthamil | Santhosh Narayanan,Saisharan | 3:51 |
| 5. | "Dhikku Dhikku Sir" (Karaoke) | 3:15 | ||
| 6. | "Oyaa Oyaa" (Karaoke) | 4:57 | ||
| Total length: | 23:41 | |||
Kaashmora was released worldwide on 28 October 2016 withSri Thenandal Films buying the distribution rights.[23] The satellite rights were sold toJaya TV, where it premiered on 14 April 2017.[24] Digital rights of the film were bought byAmazon Prime Video.[25]
M. Suganth ofThe Times of India wrote, "The film contains the usual horror comedy tropes, but presents them all in a slightly different way, and at a grander scale, which makes it feel different, even though it is essentially an old wine in a new, big-budget bottle".[26]The Hindu wrote, "All in all, it is a good effort and should appeal to dark fantasy lovers".[27]
The film collected₹8 crore (US$920,000) inTamil Nadu in first day.The film collected more than₹26 crore (US$3.0 million) worldwide in two days.[28] The film collected₹12.50 crore (US$1.4 million) inTamil Nadu and approximately₹11.10 crore (US$1.3 million) inAndhra Pradesh,Telangana,Karnataka andKerala in first weekend. The film collected₹8 crore (US$920,000) in overseas,₹3 crore (US$340,000) inUnited States,₹12 lakh (US$14,000) inCanada,₹14 lakh (US$16,000) inUK,₹86 lakh (US$98,000) inUAE,₹9 lakh (US$10,000) inFrance,₹64 lakh (US$73,000) inMalaysia,₹34 lakh (US$39,000) inAustralia,₹2 lakh (US$2,300) inNew Zealand, international collection of₹2.25 crore (US$260,000) and₹31.60 crore (US$3.6 million) worldwide.[citation needed]
